Here’s a tip for using card offcuts that I wish I had thought of a long time ago. It is so basic I am amazed I did not think of it sooner! I am sure you probably already do this, if you aren’t then I am about to save you a lot of card! If you are anything like me you never throw away any card offcuts so a tip to using them up is a handy one in my book!
When I planned a card like the Friendly Gnomes card above, I would measure my stamped card piece and then add 0.5 to 1cm (depending on layer size I wanted to show behind) onto that measurement to get the size I would need to cut my backing piece of card for layering. Easiest thing to do and all straight forward. When I came to make the card above I only had full sheets of Basic Black cardstock so I would need to cut into a full sheet for my backing card layer. Now I had searched for a piece in my offcuts drawer which is full of card strips. This is when I realised I could use those card strips to create the illusion of a card mat under my stamped card piece.
I pulled out two card strips of matching widths, cut them to the length required to back the stamped card piece. Now this is where having a pad of grid paper pays for itself in usefulness!
I wanted a backing mat to show of 0.5cm. Lining up my card strip and then positioning my stamped piece over the top I could make sure I was adhering the card strip on straight and ensure even exposure for the full length of the backing layer. I know a pretty basic concept! I am amazed I have never thought of doing this!!!!
Getting back to the grid paper. If you are not using something like this as your scratch paper you are missing out on one of the most useful items in your tool kit. Use it for stamping off when you need less ink your stamp, use it for testing a stamps image, measure your ribbon or card size, protect your work top when blending or water colouring, write notes and measurements on it as reminders and so much more! I’d be lost without my grid paper under my work space.
The stamp set used for my card is Friendly Gnomes from the Mini Catalogue. The images were coloured using Stampin’ Blends. Such cute images to colour in! I love that little bird and squirrel!
The patterned paper used to finish off my card is from Country Gingham. A 6×6 paper pack from the Mini Catalogue.
So there you have it! A way to save cutting into a brand new sheet of card when you only need a small card mat plus a way to use up those card offcuts filling up your drawers.
If you would like to read about another handy tip, click here to read this post!
Happy Stamping!
